Participant Authentication for a Videoconference

ABSTRACT

Methods for authenticating a person to participant in a videoconference based on facial imaging, fingerprint imaging, other biometric information, passwords, and physical mediums are described. Identity information for the potential participant may be received, and a recognition algorithm may be performed to determine whether the received identity information for the potential participant matches pre-stored identity information for a first person, e.g., where the potential videoconferencing participant claims to be a specific person. If the recognition algorithm determines a match, the potential videoconferencing participant may be authenticated to participate in the videoconference.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 60/761,867, titled “Shared Conference Participant Data”, whichwas filed Jan. 24, 2006, whose inventor was Michael L. Kenoyer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to videoconferences and videoconferencingsystems.

2. Description of the Related Art

Videoconferencing may be used to allow two or more participants atremote locations to communicate using both video and audio. Eachparticipant location may include a videoconferencing system forvideo/audio communication with other participants. Eachvideoconferencing system may include a camera and microphone to collectvideo and audio from a first or local participant to send to another(remote) participant. Each videoconferencing system may also include adisplay and speaker to reproduce video and audio received from a remoteparticipant. Each videoconferencing system may also have a computersystem to allow additional functionality into the videoconference. Forexample, additional functionality may include data conferencing(including displaying and/or modifying a document for both participantsduring the conference).

SUMMARY

Methods for authenticating a person to participate in a videoconferencebased on identifying information are described. In some embodiments,identifying information for the potential participant (e.g., facialimages, fingerprints, other biometric information, passwords, etc.) maybe received, and a recognition algorithm may be performed in order todetermine whether the identifying information for the potentialparticipant matches pre-stored identifying information, e.g., where thepotential participant claims to be a specific person. If the recognitionalgorithm determines a match then the potential participant may beauthenticated to participate in the videoconference.

In some embodiments, the method may use facial recognition. For example,video information that includes a facial image of a potentialparticipant at a first endpoint in the videoconference may be received.The facial image of the potential participant may be analyzed to createinformation characterizing the facial image of the potentialparticipant. A facial recognition algorithm may be performed todetermine whether the information characterizing the facial image of thepotential participant matches facial information for a first person. Ifthere is a match then the potential participant may be authenticated toparticipate in the videoconference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention may be obtained when thefollowing detailed description is considered in conjunction with thefollowing drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a videoconference;

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a videoconferencing system includinga videoconferencing device;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method fordisplaying and/or sharing participant information for participants in avideoconference;

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a display in which an image of aparticipant is displayed together with participant information for theparticipant;

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment in which a videoconferencing device ata remote endpoint sends both video information and participantinformation to a videoconferencing device at a local endpoint;

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment in which a local videoconferencingdevice at a local endpoint receives video information from a remotevideoconferencing device at a remote endpoint and receives participantinformation from a database;

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment display in which a callout box isdisplayed proximally to each participant on a display screen, where eachcallout box displays a name of the respective participant;

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment display in which multiple portions ofparticipant information are displayed simultaneously with images ofdifferent participants;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method forpre-storing participant information in a database;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a methodfor looking up the previously stored participant information forparticipants in a videoconference;

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment in which a videoconference participantcarries a badge or card that stores the participant's identityinformation;

FIGS. 12-14 illustrate several exemplary implementations of a databasein which participant information for participants may be stored;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a methodfor correlating the participant information for various participantswith the images of the participants displayed on the display screen;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a methodfor verifying the identity of a potential participant in avideoconference using facial recognition;

FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate an embodiment of a computer system forperforming a facial recognition algorithm;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a methodfor automatically converting audio speech of a participant in avideoconference into text information;

FIG. 20 illustrates components in an exemplary videoconferencing deviceaccording to an embodiment; and

FIGS. 21A-21D illustrate exemplary hardware components for avideoconferencing device, according to an embodiment.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that the drawings and detaileddescription thereto are not intended to limit the invention to theparticular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is tocover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appendedclaims. Note, the headings are for organizational purposes only and arenot meant to be used to limit or interpret the description or claims.Furthermore, note that the word “may” is used throughout thisapplication in a permissive sense (i.e., having the potential to, beingable to), not a mandatory sense (i.e., must). The term “include”, andderivations thereof, mean “including, but not limited to”. The term“coupled” means “directly or indirectly connected”.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Incorporation by Reference

U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/761,867, titled “SharedConference Participant Data”, which was filed Jan. 24, 2006, whoseinventor was Michael L. Kenoyer, is hereby incorporated by reference inits entirety as though fully and completely set forth herein.

U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/676,918, titled “Audioand Video Conferencing”, which was filed May 2, 2005, whose inventorswere Michael L. Kenoyer, Wayne Mock, and Patrick D. Vanderwilt, ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as though fully andcompletely set forth herein.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/252,238, titled “Video ConferencingSystem Transcoder”, which was filed Oct. 17, 2005, whose inventors wereMichael L. Kenoyer and Michael V. Jenkins, is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety as though fully and completely set forthherein.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/251,084, titled “Speakerphone”,which was filed Oct. 14, 2005, whose inventor was William V. Oxford, ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as though fully andcompletely set forth herein.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/251,086, titled “SpeakerphoneSupporting Video and Audio Features”, which was filed Oct. 14, 2005,whose inventors were Michael L. Kenoyer, Craig B. Malloy and Wayne E.Mock, is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as thoughfully and completely set forth herein.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/251,083, titled “High DefinitionCamera Pan Tilt Mechanism”, which was filed Oct. 14, 2005, whoseinventors were Michael L. Kenoyer, William V. Oxford, Patrick D.Vanderwilt, Hans-Christoph Haenlein, Branko Lukic and Jonathan I.Kaplan, is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as thoughfully and completely set forth herein.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/404,582, titled “Background CallValidation”, which was filed Apr. 14, 2006, whose inventors were MichaelL. Kenoyer and Jonathan W. Tracey, is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety as though fully and completely set forth herein.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/404,583, titled “Coordinated CameraPan Tilt Mechanism”, which was filed Apr. 14, 2006, whose inventors wereMichael L. Kenoyer, William V. Oxford, Patrick D. Vanderwilt,Hans-Christoph Haenlein, Branko Lukic and Jonathan I. Kaplan, is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety as though fully and completelyset forth herein.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a videoconference. Asused herein, the term “videoconference” refers to a conference betweenparticipants at two or more locations, with video information sent fromat least one of the locations to one or more of the other locations. Forexample, the video information sent from a given location may representa live video stream (video signal) received from a camera or other videosource, where the video information is received by the other locationsand used to reproduce the live video stream on a display device, such asa television or computer monitor. In addition to video information,audio information may also be sent from at least one of the locations toone or more of the other locations.

In some embodiments, videoconferencing systems may allow people at twoor more different locations to participate in a conference so that thepeople at each location can see and hear the people at the otherlocation(s). The videoconferencing systems may perform digitalcompression of audio and video signals in real time. The hardware orsoftware that performs compression may be referred to as a codec(coder/decoder). The resulting digital stream of bits representing theaudio and video data may be subdivided into packets, which may betransmitted through a network (e.g., an integrated services digitalnetwork (ISDN) or using Internet Protocol (IP)) to the other locationsor endpoints participating in the videoconference.

In some embodiments, videoconferences may be performed, for example,using videoconferencing equipment that may be especially designed forthe videoconference. In some embodiments, the videoconferencingequipment may be incorporated into other devices (e.g., a generalpurpose personal computer (PC)). For example, a typical desktop PC maybe configured to add-on hardware boards and/or software to enable the PCto participate in a videoconference. In some embodiments, thevideoconferencing device may include input ports for receiving videosignals from local video sources and audio signals from localmicrophones. The videoconferencing device may also include network portsfor receiving the remote audio/video streams from and sending the localaudio/video stream to the remote endpoints. The videoconferencing devicemay also include output ports for displaying the video data on a displaydevice and sending the audio data to an audio output device. Thevideoconferencing device may also include specialized software andhardware for compressing and decompressing audiovisual data, generatinga composite image of the video streams from the various participants,etc. The videoconferencing device may also include an interface to allowusers to interact with the videoconferencing equipment, e.g., to pan,tilt, and zoom cameras, select a video input source to send to theremote endpoints, control volume levels, control placement of videowindows on the display device, etc.

Various standards may be used to enable the videoconferencing devices ateach endpoint to communicate with each other. For example, theInternational Telecommunications Union (ITU) has specified variousvideoconferencing standards. These standards include:

H.320—This standard may be used for public switched telephone networks(PSTN) or videoconferencing over ISDN basic rate interface (BRI) orprimary rate interface (PRI). H.320 may also be used on dedicatednetworks such as T1 and satellite-based networks.

H.323—This standard may be used for video over Internet Protocol (IP).This standard may also be used for voice over IP (VoIP).

H.324—This standard may be used for transmission over POTS (Plain OldTelephone Service), or audio telephony networks.

In some embodiments, IP-based videoconferencing may be used as acommunications interface and standard for videoconferencing equipment.The Internet, and especially broadband, may facilitate the use of H.323IP-based videoconferencing. H.323 may be accessible to users over a highspeed Internet connection, such as a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)connection, cable modem connection, or other high-speed connection.

The various locations of the videoconference participants are referredto herein as “endpoints” in the videoconference. For example, FIG. 1illustrates an exemplary videoconference in which participants 80A-80Eare located at respective endpoints 101A-101E. The term “remoteendpoint” is relative to a given endpoint in the videoconference andrefers to the other endpoints in the videoconference. For example,endpoints 101B-101E may be remote endpoints with respect to endpoint101A, while endpoints 101A-101D may be remote endpoints with respect toendpoint 101E.

Although there are five endpoints 101 in the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1, in other embodiments there may be other numbers of endpoints (aslong as there are at least two). Also, the participants 80 at a givenendpoint 101 may include various numbers of people. In some embodiments,each endpoint 101 may include at least one person as a participant 80.In some embodiments, one or more of the endpoints 101 may not havepeople present as participants 80. For example, video information from acamera stationed at an endpoint 101A with no participants 80 may be sentto other endpoints 101 and viewed by participants 80 at the otherendpoints 101 (the other endpoints 101 may also share video informationamong each other).

In some embodiments, the endpoints 101 may send video information to allof the remote endpoints 101. In some embodiments, one or more of theendpoints may send video information to only a subset, but not all, ofthe remote endpoints. As an embodiment, endpoints 101B-101E may eachsend video information only to endpoint 101A, and endpoint 101A may sendvideo information to each of the endpoints 101B-101E. In someembodiments, each endpoint 101 may send video information to aMultipoint Control Unit (MCU). The MCU may relay the received videoinformation to the various endpoints 101. The MCU may be located at oneof the endpoints 101 or may be in a separate location from the endpoints101.

In some embodiments, one or more of the endpoints 101 may not send videoinformation to a remote endpoint. As an embodiment, a given endpoint 101may receive video information from one or more of the remote endpoints,but may not send video information to a remote endpoint. In someembodiments, a given endpoint 101 may not send video information to aremote endpoint or receive video information from a remote endpoint. Inthis embodiment, the given endpoint 101 may participate in thevideoconference by sharing audio information only, e.g., may receiveaudio information from one or more of the remote endpoints, as well aspossibly sending audio information to one or more of the remoteendpoints.

As noted above, in addition to sharing video information, the endpoints101 may also share audio information. In some embodiments, each endpoint101 that sends video information to one or more remote endpoints mayalso send audio information to the one or more remote endpoints 101. Insome embodiments, each endpoint 101 may receive both video informationand audio information from the other endpoints 101. In some embodiments,one or more of the endpoints 101 may send video information to one ormore remote endpoints, but without sending audio information to the oneor more remote endpoints. In some embodiments, one or more of theendpoints 101 may send audio information to one or more remoteendpoints, but without sending video information to the one or moreremote endpoints.

It will be appreciated that many other possible embodiments of sendingvideo and/or audio information among the various endpoints 101 are alsopossible.

As noted above, in some embodiments, a Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) maybe used to facilitate sharing video and audio information among theendpoints 101. The MCU may act as a bridge that interconnects calls fromseveral endpoints. For example, the endpoints 101 may call the MCU, orthe MCU may call the endpoints 101 that are going to participate in thevideoconference. The MCU may be located at one of the endpoints 101 ofthe videoconference or may be in a separate location from an endpoint101. In some embodiments, the MCU may be embedded in a videoconferencingdevice at one of the endpoints 101.

The various endpoints 101 in the videoconference may be coupled to eachother through a network 105 and may exchange data with each other viathe network 105. More particularly, videoconferencing devices located atthe various endpoints 101 may be coupled to each other through thenetwork 105. In various embodiments, the videoconferencing devices maycommunicate with each other through the network 105 using variouscommunication protocols. In some embodiments, the videoconferencingdevices may communicate using an IP-based protocol or other packet-basedcommunication protocol.

In various embodiments, the network 105 may include various types ofnetworks or combinations of networks. For example, the network 105 mayinclude various types or combinations of computer networks, datanetworks, or telephonic networks. Embodiments of computer networksinclude local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), anIntranet, the Internet, etc. Exemplary local area networks includeEthernet networks, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) networks, andtoken ring networks. Also, the videoconferencing devices may be coupledto the network 105 using various types of wired or wireless connectionmediums. For example, wired mediums may include Ethernet, fiber channel,ISDN connection, etc. Wireless connection mediums may include asatellite link, a modem link through a cellular service, a wireless linksuch as Wi-Fi™, a wireless connection using a wireless communicationprotocol such as IEEE 802.11 (wireless Ethernet), etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of an exemplary videoconferencingsystem 119 that may be utilized by an endpoint 101 in thevideoconference. As shown, the videoconferencing system 119 may includea videoconferencing device 120. As used herein, the term“videoconferencing device” refers to a device operable to receive videoinformation from and send video information to remote endpoints in avideoconference (e.g., directly or through an MCU). A videoconferencingdevice may also receive audio information from and send audioinformation to the remote endpoints.

In some embodiments, the videoconferencing device 120 may receive aplurality of video input signals from a plurality of video sources 130,e.g., via inputs on the videoconferencing device 120. In variousembodiments, a video source 130 may include various kinds of devicesoperable to produce a video signal. In some embodiments, the videosources 130 may include two video cameras and a personal computer (PC),e.g., where the PC provides a video signal through a video card. Otherembodiments of possible video sources 130 include a Digital VersatileDisc (DVD) player, a Videocassette Recorder (VCR), or other deviceoperable to produce a video signal. In various embodiments, thevideoconferencing device 120 may receive respective video input signalsfrom various numbers of video sources 130. The videoconferencing device120 may be operable to select one (or more) of the video input signalsreceived from the video sources 130 as a video input signal to send toone or more of the remote endpoints in the videoconference.

As shown, the videoconferencing device 120 may be coupled to the network105. The videoconferencing device 120 may send the selected local videoinput signal to the remote endpoints 101 via the network 105. Thevideoconferencing device 120 may also receive video signals from theremote endpoints 101 via the network 105. The video signals receivedfrom the remote endpoints 101 are also referred to herein as “remotevideo signals”.

As used herein, the term “video signal” or “video input signal” refersto various kinds of information useable to display video and does notimply that the information is in a particular form or encoded in aparticular way. For example, in various embodiments, the local videosignal from a local video source may be sent from an endpoint 101 to theremote endpoints 101 in various forms and using various communicationprotocols or standards. In some embodiments, the local video signal maybe sent to the remote endpoints 101 as digital information, e.g., asordered packets of information. Similarly, in some embodiments, theremote video signals may be received over the network 105 in a digitalform, e.g., as ordered packets of information.

Thus, if the local video source originally produces an analog signal,then the signal may be converted into digital information, or if thelocal video source originally produces a digital signal, the signal maybe encoded in a different way or packetized in various ways. Thus, thevideo information that originates from a given video source 130 may beencoded, decoded, or converted into other forms at various stagesbetween leaving the video source and arriving at the remote endpoints(possibly multiple times). The term “video signal” is intended toencompass the video information in various forms.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the videoconferencing system 119 at theendpoint 101 may also include one or more display devices 122 to whichthe videoconferencing device 120 provides an output signal via an outputport. The display device 122 may include various kinds of devicesoperable to display video information, such as a television, computermonitor, LCD screen, projector, or other device.

In some embodiments, the videoconferencing device 120 may be operable todisplay a graphical user interface (GUI) on the display device 122,where the user (e.g., the operator of the videoconferencing device 120)can interact with the GUI to provide input to the videoconferencingdevice 120, e.g., similar to the manner in which users commonly provideinput to computer systems or on-screen television displays to setvarious options or perform various functions. For example, the user mayoperate the remote control device 128 or other input device (such as akeyboard or buttons on the videoconferencing device 120 chassis) torequest the videoconferencing device 120 to perform a particularoperation. In response, the videoconferencing device 120 may displayvarious GUI elements on the display device 122, e.g., where the GUIelements may indicate various options or functions related to therequested operation. The user may scroll to and select a desired GUIelement.

In some embodiments, the videoconferencing system 119 may includemultiple display devices 122. The videoconferencing device 120 may beconfigured to distribute multiple output video signals across themultiple display devices 122.

As shown, the videoconferencing device 120 may also couple to one ormore audio devices 124. For example, the audio device(s) 124 may includeone or more microphones or other audio input devices for providing localaudio input to be sent to the remote endpoints 101, as well as one ormore speakers or other audio output devices for audibly projecting audioinformation received from the remote endpoints 101.

In some embodiments, participant information for participants in thevideoconference may be displayed to other participants, e.g., to enablethe various participants to know who the other participants are. Forexample, if a participant A at a remote endpoint A is displayed on adisplay screen at a local endpoint B, the name or other information forthe participant A may also be displayed on the display screen at thelocal endpoint B.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method fordisplaying and/or sharing participant information for participants in avideoconference. The method of FIG. 3 may be implemented by avideoconferencing device 120 (referred to below as the localvideoconferencing device) at an endpoint 101 (referred to below as the“local endpoint”) in the videoconference.

At 301 the local videoconferencing device 120 may receive videoinformation from a remote endpoint of the videoconference, where thevideo information includes an image of one or more participants at theremote endpoint.

At 303, the local videoconferencing device 120 may receive participantinformation for the one or more participants at the remote endpoint. Theparticipant information for each participant may include distinguishinginformation associated with the participant, such as a name of theparticipant, a phone number of the participant, an email address of theparticipant, a mailing address of the participant, a job title of theparticipant, an employer of the participant, etc.

At some embodiments, the local videoconferencing device 120 may receivethe participant information from the remote endpoint of thevideoconference. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, avideoconferencing device at the remote endpoint may send both the videoinformation and the participant information to the localvideoconferencing device 120. In some embodiments, the participantinformation may be represented by information separate from the videoinformation. For example, the local videoconferencing device 120 and theremote videoconferencing device may communicate using a protocol inwhich the participant information is sent as a separate stream ofinformation from the video information or is sent in a data object suchthat the participant information is distinguished from the videoinformation. In some embodiments, the participant information may not berepresented separately from the video information. For example, theremote videoconferencing device may create a composite image in whichthe video information includes the participant information, e.g., astext overlaid over the camera image.

In some embodiments, the local videoconferencing device 120 may receivethe participant information from a data source other than the remoteendpoint of the videoconference. For example, in some embodiments, thelocal videoconferencing device 120 may communicate with a database at alocation other than the remote endpoint to receive the participantinformation. For example, FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment in which thelocal videoconferencing device 120 receives the video information from aremote videoconferencing device at the remote endpoint and receives theparticipant information from a database 190. The database 190 may behosted by a computer server at a location other than the remoteendpoint. Other locations are also contemplated.

At 305, the local videoconferencing device 120 may display the videoinformation on at least one display screen at the local endpoint.Displaying the video information may include displaying the images ofthe one or more participants at the remote endpoint.

At 307, the participant data for the one or more participants may bedisplayed on at least one display screen at the local endpoint. In someembodiments, the display screen on which the participant information isdisplayed may be the same display screen as the display screen on whichthe video information is displayed. For example, FIG. 4 illustrates anembodiment in which an image of a participant at the remote endpoint isdisplayed on a display device 122 at the local endpoint. Participantinformation for the participant may be displayed together on the displaydevice 122 substantially simultaneously with the image of theparticipant (e.g., the information may appear to be displayed at thesame time as the image of the participant). In this embodiment theparticipant information includes a name of the participant (John Smith),a title of the participant (Chief Financial Officer), and a company withwhich the participant is associated (XYZ Corporation). In someembodiments, a participant (or other entity) may indicate the extent ofthe participant information to display. For example, a participant mayspecify that the extent of the participant information displayed shouldonly include their first and last name. In some embodiments, theparticipant may include their job title in the extent of informationthat can be displayed. In some embodiments, the participant may specificthat no information should be displayed for them. Other extents are alsocontemplated.

In some embodiments, multiple participants (or a single participant) ofthe remote endpoint may be displayed on a display device 122 at thelocal endpoint, and participant information for the participant(s) maybe displayed together on the display device 122 simultaneously with theimages of the participant(s). In some embodiments, the participantinformation for the participants may be displayed proximally to therespective images of the participants to which the participantinformation corresponds. Displaying the various portions of participantinformation proximally to the corresponding participants may visuallyassociate the portions of participant information with the respectiveparticipants, thus enabling viewers at the local endpoint to ascertainwhich portions of participant information corresponds to whichparticipants.

In various embodiments, the different portions of participantinformation may be displayed in various ways such that the portions ofparticipant information may be visually associated with theircorresponding participants. For example, FIG. 7 illustrates anembodiment in which the local videoconferencing device 120 displays acallout box 501 proximally to each participant, where each callout box501 displays a name of the respective participant. This may allow theviewers (participants) at the local endpoint to identify the remoteparticipants by looking at the callout boxes 501 displayed proximally tothe respective participants.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment in which multiple portions ofparticipant information are displayed simultaneously with images ofdifferent participants. In this embodiment, the portions of participantinformation are visually associated with their correspondingparticipants by displaying a box 503 around each participant anddisplaying the name 505 of each participant within each respective box503.

In some embodiments, multiple remote participants may be displayedsimultaneously on the display device 122, but participant informationmay only be displayed for a subset of the participants shown on thedisplay. For example, in some embodiments, the local videoconferencingdevice 120 may be operable to analyze the video information to determinewhich remote participant is currently speaking and may only displayparticipant information for the current speaker. In some embodiments,one of the participants at the local endpoint may move a cursor aroundthe display by operating a mouse or other input device. If the cursorhovers over an image of one of the remote participants, the localvideoconferencing device 120 may display the participant information forthat participant in response. Otherwise, in some embodiments,participant information may not be displayed for the participants.

In some embodiments, the participant information may be displayed on adifferent display screen than the display screen on which the videoinformation is displayed. For example, in some embodiments, the localendpoint may include a main display screen and a supplemental displayscreen. The main display screen may display the video informationreceived from the remote endpoint, and the participant information maybe displayed on the supplemental display screen. In some embodiments,the local participants at the local endpoints may have a small personaldisplay screen located at his seat, which he is able to control. Forexample, a local participant may operate an input device to provide userinput to the local videoconferencing device 120 to request the localvideoconferencing device 120 to display the participant information fora certain remote participant on his local display screen.

In some embodiments, in addition to or alternatively to displaying theparticipant information, the local videoconferencing device 120 may beoperable to transmit the participant information for the remoteparticipants to one or more of the local participants at the localendpoint. For example, the local videoconferencing device 120 maywirelessly transmit the participant information to a personal wirelessdevice (e.g., a personal digital assistant (PDA), cell phone, laptopwith a wireless link, etc.) of a local participant at the localendpoint. This may enable the personal wireless device of the localparticipant to automatically receive and store contact information orother participant information for the remote participants. In someembodiments, the local videoconferencing device 120 may send electroniccorrespondence (e.g., an email) including the participant informationfor the remote participants to an email address of the localparticipant.

In some embodiments, the participant information received by the localvideoconferencing device 120 in block 303 of FIG. 3 may be retrievedfrom a database in which the participant information was previouslystored, e.g., stored prior to or during the videoconference. FIG. 9 is aflowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method for pre-storingparticipant information in a database.

The method of FIG. 9 may be implemented by software executing on variouskinds of systems. In some embodiments, the method may be implemented bysoftware executing on a videoconferencing device 120. In someembodiments, the method may be implemented by software executing on acomputer system other than a videoconferencing device 120.

At 331, participant information for at least one participant may bereceived. The participant information for the participant may includeinformation such as the participant's name, telephone number, emailaddress, job title, employer, etc. In some embodiments, the participantinformation for the participants may be received in response to userinput manually specifying the participant information, e.g., via akeyboard or other input device. In some embodiments, the participantinformation for the participant may be received in other ways (e.g.,from another program or database).

At 333, identity information for the at least one participant may bereceived. The identity information for the participant may includevarious kinds of information useable to identify the participant. Insome embodiments, the identity information for the participant mayinclude biometric information for the participant, such as fingerprintinformation, facial information, a voiceprint, a retinal scan,deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sample, etc. In some embodiments, theidentity information for the participant may include an identification(ID) number or other information associated with the participant thatidentifies the participant. In some embodiments, the participant's name(which may be received as part of the participant information) may beused as the identity information.

The identity information for the participant may be received in variousways. For example, where the identity information includes biometricinformation, the biometric information may be received from a biometricdevice, such as a fingerprint scanner, camera, voice recorder, retinalscanner, etc. In some embodiments, where the identity information foreach participant includes an ID number, the ID number may be received inresponse to user input manually specifying the ID number, e.g., via akeyboard or other input device.

At 335, the participant information for the participant may be stored ina database. The identity information for the participant may also bestored in the database. The participant information for the participantmay be linked to the identity information for the participant in such away that the identity information for the participant can later be usedas a key to look up the participant's participant information in thedatabase. For example, for a participant, a record in the database maybe created, where the record includes both the participant's identityinformation and the participant's participant information. The identityinformation may later be used as a key to look up the records forparticipants in a videoconference to retrieve their participantinformation.

The method of FIG. 9 may be used to pre-store participant informationfor at least one person who may later participate in a videoconference.For example, the method may be used to pre-store participant informationfor each person who works for an organization and may participate invideoconferences conducted by that organization. When one or more of thepeople later participate in a videoconference, their previously storedparticipant information may be looked up from the database, e.g., sothat the participant information can be shared with participants atanother endpoint in the videoconference (e.g., see FIG. 3).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a methodfor looking up the previously stored participant information forparticipants in a videoconference. For example, suppose that thevideoconference includes an endpoint 101A and an endpoint 101B. Supposealso that participant information for participants at the endpoint 101Awas previously stored in a database (e.g., see FIG. 9). For the purposesof this embodiment, the endpoint 101B is referred to as the localendpoint, and the endpoint 101A is referred to as the remote endpoint.In some embodiments, it may be desirable to display the participantinformation for the remote participants (the participants at endpoint101A) on a display screen at the local endpoint (endpoint 101B). Thus,the participant information for the remote participants may be retrievedfrom the database, as shown by the method of FIG. 10.

At 341, identity information for at least one participant at the remoteendpoint 101A may be received. The identity information for theparticipant may include the identity information that was previouslyreceived in block 333 of FIG. 9 and stored in the database inassociation with the participant information for the participant.

At 343, the participant information for the participant that waspreviously stored in the database may be looked up from the databasebased on the identity information. For example, for a participant, theparticipant information for the participant may be looked up bycommunicating with the database to perform a search or query todetermine a matching record in the database, e.g., a record whoseidentity information matches the identity information received from theparticipant in 341. The participant information may then be extractedfrom the matching record.

In some embodiments, the participant information for a participant maybe looked up from the database at the time of the videoconference, e.g.,at or just prior to the beginning of the videoconference, when theparticipants are gathered together in a videoconference room. In someembodiments, the participant information for each participant may belooked up from the database in advance, e.g., before the beginning ofthe videoconference. For example, a list of the participants and/orother identity information for the participants may be provided to asoftware application that operates to communicate with the database toretrieve the participant information in advance of the videoconference.In some embodiments, the software application may be operable to notifya human if participant information is not available for one or more ofthe people who will participate in the videoconference. For example, ifthe list contains a name of a participant who does not have a record inthe database then the software may send an email or otherwise notify anadministrator that participant information for that participant needs tobe entered into the database.

In some embodiments, the identity information received in 341 for agiven participant may need to exactly match the participant's identityinformation that is stored in the record to consider the record a match.For example, where the identity information includes information such asan ID number, name, or password, the identity information received in341 and the identity information stored in the record may need toexactly match. In some embodiments, where the identity informationincludes biometric information, various kinds of algorithms, heuristics,or matching criteria may be used to determine whether the identityinformation received in 341 matches the participant's identityinformation stored in the database record closely enough to consider therecord a match.

In some embodiments, the method of FIG. 10 may be performed by theremote videoconferencing device at the remote endpoint 101A. Forexample, the identity information for each participant at the remoteendpoint 101A may be received by the remote videoconferencing device atthe remote endpoint 101A, and the remote videoconferencing device maycommunicate with the database to look up the participant information foreach participant based on the identity information.

In some embodiments, the identity information for each participant maybe received by the videoconferencing device at the remote endpointautomatically, e.g., without the participants at the remote endpointactively or manually providing their identity information to thevideoconferencing device. For example, in some embodiments, the identityinformation for each participant may include facial information, such asan image of the participant's face or information characterizing facialfeatures of the participant's face. The videoconferencing device mayreceive video information from a camera at the remote endpoint, wherethe video information includes an image of each participant's face. Forexample, the participants may simply sit at a conference table facingtoward the camera such that the camera captures a scene including eachparticipant's face. The videoconferencing device may analyze the videoinformation to automatically determine where the participants' faces arewithin the video information and may use the facial information to lookup the participant information for each of the participants in thedatabase.

In some embodiments, the videoconferencing device at the remote endpoint101A may automatically receive the identity information for eachparticipant from a physical medium in the participant's possession. Forexample, each participant may carry a badge or card 160, as shown inFIG. 11. The badge or card 160 may store or encode the participant'sidentity information. When the participant enters the videoconferenceroom and comes in close proximity to the videoconferencing device 120 atthe remote endpoint, the videoconferencing device 120 may establishwireless communication with the participant's badge or card 160 toautomatically receive the participant's identity information. Thevideoconferencing device 120 may then use the identity informationreceived from the respective participants' badges or cards 160 to lookup the participant information for each of the participants in thedatabase. In some embodiments, various other kinds of personal devicesoperable to perform wireless communication may automatically provide theparticipants' identity information to the videoconferencing device, suchas personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones, or other personalmobile devices.

In some embodiments, each participant at the remote endpoint 101A mayactively or manually provide his identity information to the remotevideoconferencing device at the remote endpoint 101A. For example, insome embodiments, each participant may carry a badge or card 160 thatstores or encodes the participant's identity information. Instead of thebadge or card 160 wirelessly transmitting the identity information tothe videoconferencing device, in some embodiments, each participant mayactively swipe his badge or card 160 through or place it on a readerdevice 162. The reader device 162 may be coupled to thevideoconferencing device 120 via either a wired or wireless connection,and the videoconferencing device 120 may receive the identityinformation for the participants from the reader device 162.

In some embodiments, each participant (or another person on eachparticipant's behalf) may provide user input via a keyboard or otherinput device coupled to the videoconferencing device to manually enterhis identity information.

In some embodiments, participants at the remote endpoint 101A may alsoactively or manually provide identity information to thevideoconferencing device at the remote endpoint 101A where the identityinformation includes biometric information. For example, if the identityinformation includes fingerprint information, then each participant mayplace a finger on a fingerprint scanner device. The fingerprint scannerdevice may scan the participant's fingerprint and send an image of thefingerprint or data characterizing the fingerprint to thevideoconferencing device (which may use the fingerprint data to look upthe participant information for the participant). In some embodiments,if the identity information includes voice information then eachparticipant may speak into a microphone to provide a voice sample thatcan be used to look up his participant information. In some embodiments,identity information for the participants may include facial informationand each participant may stand near the camera and look directly intothe camera to enable the camera to obtain an accurate and detailedfacial image of the participant that can be used to look up hisparticipant information.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the method of FIG. 10 may beperformed by the local videoconferencing device at the local endpoint101B. For example, in some embodiments, the identity information foreach participant may be received by the remote videoconferencing deviceat the remote endpoint 101A and may then be sent to the localvideoconferencing device at the local endpoint 101B. The localvideoconferencing device may then communicate with the database to lookup the participant information for each participant based on theidentity information.

FIGS. 12-14 illustrate several exemplary implementations of a database190 in which participant information for participants at the remoteendpoint 101A may be stored (e.g., see FIG. 9). As seen in FIG. 12, thedatabase 190 may be stored on or included in the videoconferencingdevice 120A at the remote endpoint 101A. For example, the database 190may be stored on a hard disk or other memory medium of thevideoconferencing device 120A. The videoconferencing device 120A mayexecute software operable to receive participant information andidentity information for each of a plurality of people associated withthe remote endpoint 101A. The videoconferencing device 120 may alsostore a respective record for each person in the database 190. Therecord for each person may link the person's identity information to hisparticipant information.

At a later time, when a subset of the people for whom information isstored in the database 190 participate in a videoconference with thelocal endpoint 101B, the videoconferencing device 120A at the remoteendpoint 101A may receive identity information for each of the personsparticipating in the videoconference at the remote endpoint 101A andretrieve their participant information from the database 190. Thevideoconferencing device 120A at the remote endpoint 101A may send theparticipant information for each of the participants at the remoteendpoint 101A to the videoconferencing device 120B at the local endpoint101B. The videoconferencing device 120B may display the participantinformation for the remote participants at the remote endpoint 101A on adisplay screen at the local endpoint 101B or share the participantinformation with the local participants at the local endpoint 101B invarious other ways.

FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of the database 190 that is associatedwith the remote endpoint 101A, but is not stored on or included in thevideoconferencing device 120A itself. For example, the database 190 maybe stored on a computer system coupled to a local area network (LAN) atthe remote endpoint 101A, where the videoconferencing device 120A isalso coupled to the LAN. In some embodiments, the computer system mayexecute software operable to receive participant information andidentity information and store the participant information for eachperson in the database 190 in association with the person's identityinformation. When a videoconference is held at a subsequent time, thevideoconferencing device 120A may communicate with the computer systemto retrieve participant information for videoconference participantsfrom the database 190.

FIG. 14 illustrates an embodiment of the database 190 stored on acomputer system or in a domain not associated with the remote endpoint101A. The database 190 may instead be hosted by a server computerassociated with, for example, a trusted third-party domain 20. Forexample, in some embodiments, the database 190 may be hosted by a vendorof the videoconferencing devices 120A and 120B or may be hosted by athird-party service provider for the videoconferencing devices 120A and120B. The videoconferencing device 120A or another computer system atthe remote endpoint 101A may communicate with the server computer in thetrusted third-party domain 20 to store participant information andassociated identity information for various people (e.g., employees)associated with the remote endpoint 101A in the database 190.

In some embodiments, when a videoconference is held at a subsequenttime, the remote videoconferencing device 120A may send identityinformation for participants at the remote endpoint 101A to the servercomputer in the third-party domain 20. The server computer may thenretrieve the participant information from records in the database 190that match the identity information and return the participantinformation to the remote videoconferencing device 120A. The remotevideoconferencing device 120A may then send the participant informationto the local videoconferencing device 120B at the local endpoint 101B.

In some embodiments, the remote videoconferencing device 120A may sendthe identity information for participants at the remote endpoint 101A tothe local videoconferencing device 120B at the local endpoint 101B. Theserver computer may retrieve the participant information from records inthe database 190 that match the identity information and return theparticipant information for the remote participants to the localvideoconferencing device 120B. The local videoconferencing device 120Bmay display the participant information for the remote participants on adisplay screen at the local endpoint 101B or share the participantinformation with the local participants at the local endpoint 101B invarious other ways.

In some embodiments, participant information may be pre-stored in adatabase and later retrieved from the database for use in avideoconference. In some embodiments, the participant information maynot be pre-stored in a database. For example, the participantinformation may be provided by the participants or may be provided onthe participants' behalf at the time of the videoconference, e.g., at orjust prior to the beginning of the videoconference or during thevideoconference. For example, in some embodiments, the videoconferencingdevice at the remote endpoint 101A (e.g., the endpoint at which theparticipants are located) may automatically receive the participantinformation for each participant from a device in the participant'spossession. In some embodiments, each participant may carry a badge orcard that stores or encodes the participant's participant information.When the participant enters the conference room and comes in closeproximity to the videoconferencing device at the remote endpoint 101A,the videoconferencing device may establish wireless communication withthe participant's badge or card to automatically receive the participantinformation. In some embodiments, various other kinds of personaldevices operable to perform wireless communication may automaticallyprovide the participant information to the videoconferencing device,such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones, or otherpersonal mobile devices.

In some embodiments, each participant at the remote endpoint 101A mayactively or manually provide his participant information to the remotevideoconferencing device at the remote endpoint 101A. For example, insome embodiments, each participant may carry a badge or card that storesor encodes his participant information. Instead of the badge or cardwirelessly transmitting the participant information to thevideoconferencing device, in some embodiments, each participant mayactively swipe his badge or card through or place it on a reader devicethat is coupled to the videoconferencing device. Thus, thevideoconferencing device may receive the participant information for theparticipants from the reader device.

In some embodiments, each participant may have a business card thatlists information such as his name, job title, telephone number, andother participant information. Each participant may place his businesscard on a device operable to scan or analyze the business card todetermine the participant information. For example, the device may scanthe business card into an image and perform optical characterrecognition (OCR) algorithms on the image to determine the informationlisted on the business card.

In some embodiments, each participant (or another person on eachparticipant's behalf) may provide user input via a keyboard or otherinput device coupled to the videoconferencing device to manually enterhis participant information. For example, the videoconferencing devicemay execute software operable to display a graphical user interfaceenabling the participant information to be entered.

In some embodiments, where the participant information is provided bythe participants at the time of the videoconference, the participantinformation may then be saved in a database. The participant informationmay be retrieved from the database for use in future videoconferences.For example, the first time a participant participates in avideoconference, the participant may place his business card in ascanner device that reads his participant information. The participantmay also provide identity information such as a password or biometricinformation, which is stored in the database in association with hisparticipant information. When the participant participates in futurevideoconferences, the participant information may simply provide thepassword, biometric information, or other identity information toidentify himself so that his participant information can be looked upfrom the database, thus avoiding the need to re-scan the participant'sbusiness card to obtain his participant information.

In some embodiments (e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8), multipleparticipants at the remote endpoint may be displayed together on thedisplay screen at the local endpoint, and participant information foreach participant may be displayed on the display screen proximally tothe respective participant. FIG. 15 is a flowchart diagram illustratingan embodiment of a method for correlating the participant informationfor various participants with the images of the participants displayedon the display screen.

As indicated in 401, the method may operate to identify whichparticipants are present in the video image and their locations withinthe video image. In various embodiments, various kinds of techniques maybe used to identify the participants and their locations within thevideo image.

As indicated in 403, the participant information for at least oneparticipant may be displayed proximally to the participant within thevideo image.

In some embodiments, facial recognition techniques may be utilized toidentify the participants and their locations within the video image.For example, in some embodiments, the local videoconferencing device atthe local endpoint may receive the video image from the remotevideoconferencing device. The local videoconferencing device may analyzethe video image to determine one or more regions within the video imagewhere a participant's face is located and may analyze each face toidentify the participant. For example, a database may include records inwhich facial information (for example comprised in a data object withinformation (such as a comparative image) describing facialcharacteristics relevant to a particular participant) for eachparticipant is linked to the participant's participant information.Thus, the local videoconferencing device may obtain the participantinformation for the participants whose faces appear within the videoimage by searching the database to find records whose facial informationmatches the faces in the video image. The local videoconferencing devicemay create a composite image by overlaying the participant informationnext to the respective faces in the video image.

Facial recognition may also be used to dynamically change or move thedisplayed participant information as the video image changes. Forexample, participants may walk or move across the video frame. The localvideoconferencing device may operate to track the participants' faces asthey move across the video frame and may update the display of theparticipant information accordingly. For example, if a participant movesfrom one side of the scene to the other then his participant informationmay be moved to maintain proximity with the participant. If aparticipant disappears out of the scene then his participant informationmay be removed from the display screen. If a new participant appears inthe scene then participant information for the new participant may bedisplayed.

In some embodiments, the remote videoconferencing device at the remoteendpoint may perform facial recognition techniques instead of the localvideoconferencing device at the local endpoint. For example, the remotevideoconferencing device may perform facial recognition techniques.Before sending the video image to the local videoconferencing device,the remote videoconferencing device may alter the video image so thatparticipant information is displayed proximally to the participants.

In some embodiments, the identity of one or more participants in avideoconference may be verified, e.g., to ensure that the participantsare really who they claim to be. For example, participants at oneendpoint in the videoconference may need to ensure that a participant atanother endpoint in the videoconference is really who he claims to be.Also, an organization may need to ensure that people who participate invideoconferences at the organization do not falsely represent theiridentity to remote participants, e.g., by falsely claiming to beexecutives or employees for the organization.

In some embodiments, participant identity may be verified through facialrecognition. For example, FIG. 16 is a flowchart diagram illustrating anembodiment of a method for verifying the identity of a potentialparticipant in a videoconference (e.g., in which the potentialparticipant claims to be a specific person). The potential participantmay be located at a first endpoint in the videoconference. One or moreparticipants who desire to videoconference with the specific person maybe located at a second endpoint in the videoconference.

At 701, video information that includes a facial image of the potentialparticipant may be received. In 703, the facial image of the potentialparticipant may be analyzed to create information characterizing thefacial image of the potential participant. In some embodiments, thevideo information may be analyzed to locate a region containing thefacial image of the potential participant. In some embodiments, thefacial image of the potential participant may occupy substantially allof the frame or may be located at a known position within the frame.Other locations and coverages for the facial image are alsocontemplated.

At 705, a facial recognition algorithm may be performed to determinewhether the information characterizing the facial image of the potentialparticipant matches facial information for the specific person. Forexample, an image of the face of the specific person may have beenpreviously analyzed to create the facial information for the specificperson, and the facial information for the specific person may have beenstored, e.g., in a database. Thus, the method may include receiving thefacial information for the specific person to compare it to theinformation characterizing the facial image of the potentialparticipant.

In various embodiments, various techniques may be used to create theinformation characterizing the facial image, and various kinds of facialrecognition algorithms may be performed to determine if there is amatch. Exemplary facial recognition algorithms include Eigenface,Fisherface, the Hidden Markov model, Dynamic Link Matching, andthree-dimensional face recognition.

If the facial recognition algorithm determines that there is a matchthen the potential participant may be authenticated to participate inthe videoconference, as indicated in 707. Authenticating the potentialparticipant to participate in the videoconference may include allowingthe potential participant to participate in the videoconference in anopen manner, e.g., since the facial recognition algorithm has determinedthat the potential participant is in fact the specific person. In someembodiments, the method may further include displaying informationindicating that the potential participant has been authenticated toparticipate in the videoconference. For example, the information may bedisplayed on a display device at the first endpoint where the potentialparticipant is located and/or on a display device at the secondendpoint. The information may include various kinds of information toindicate that the potential participant was successfully authenticated,such as text information or a graphical icon.

If the facial recognition algorithm determines that the informationcharacterizing the facial image of the potential participant does notmatch the facial information for the specific person then the potentialparticipant may be inhibited from participating in the videoconference,as indicated in 709. In various embodiments, the potential participantmay be inhibited from participating in the videoconference in variousways. For example, in some embodiments, information indicating that thefacial image of the potential participant does not match the facialinformation for the specific person may be displayed, e.g., on a displaydevice at the first endpoint and/or on a display device at the secondendpoint. Displaying the information on the display device at the secondendpoint may alert participants at the second endpoint that thepotential participant may not be who he claims to be, i.e., may not bethe specific person. In some embodiments, the method may includealerting the participants at the second endpoint in other ways, such asby causing an audio alert to be broadcast at the second endpoint.

In some embodiments, the functionality described above with reference tothe method of FIG. 16 may be implemented by a videoconferencing device120 at the first endpoint where the potential participant is located (oron another device). For example, the videoconferencing device 120 at thefirst endpoint may receive the video information including the facialimage of the potential participant, e.g., from a camera at the firstendpoint. The videoconferencing device 120 at the first endpoint mayanalyze the facial image of the potential participant to create theinformation characterizing the facial image of the potentialparticipant.

The videoconferencing device 120 at the first endpoint may also receivethe facial information for a specific person. For example, the facialinformation for the specific person may be retrieved from a database. Insome embodiments, the database may be stored on a memory medium of thevideoconferencing device 120. In some embodiments, the videoconferencingdevice 120 may communicate with another computer system on which thedatabase is stored to receive the facial information for the specificperson. In some embodiments, the database may be stored on a computersystem that is external to the first endpoint. For example, the databasemay be hosted by a vendor of the videoconferencing device or by athird-party security organization.

The videoconferencing device 120 at the first endpoint may also performthe facial recognition algorithm to determine whether the informationcharacterizing the facial image of the potential participant matches thefacial information for the specific person, and may authenticate thepotential participant to participate in the videoconference if there isa match.

The videoconferencing device 120 at the first endpoint may send audioand video information to a videoconferencing device 120 at the secondendpoint as usual. In some embodiments, the videoconferencing device 120at the first endpoint may also send information indicating whether thepotential participant was successfully authenticated to anothervideoconferencing device 120 at the second endpoint. For example, thevideoconferencing device 120 at the second endpoint may alert theparticipants at the second endpoint if the potential participant was notverified to be the specific person.

In some embodiments, the functionality described above with reference tothe method of FIG. 16 may be implemented by a videoconferencing deviceat the second endpoint, i.e., an endpoint other than the first endpointwhere the potential participant is located. For example, thevideoconferencing device 120 at the second endpoint may receive thevideo information including the facial image of the potentialparticipant from a videoconferencing device 120 at the first endpoint.The videoconferencing device 120 at the second endpoint may analyze thefacial image of the potential participant to create the informationcharacterizing the facial image of the potential participant and mayperform a facial recognition algorithm to determine whether theinformation characterizing the facial image of the potential participantmatches the facial information for the specific person. In someembodiments, the videoconferencing device 120 at the second endpoint mayreceive the facial information for the specific person from varioussources, e.g., from a database stored on the videoconferencing device120 at the second endpoint or from a database stored on another computersystem.

In some embodiments, a computer system that is external to both thefirst endpoint and the second endpoint may perform the facialrecognition algorithm. For example, FIG. 17 illustrates an embodiment inwhich the first endpoint sends the facial image of the potentialparticipant or the video information including the facial image of thepotential participant to an external computer system 720, as indicatedby arrow 1. The external computer system 720 may store a database thatincludes facial information for various people, including the facialinformation for the specific person. For example, the external computersystem 720 may be managed by a trusted third party, e.g., anorganization different from the organizations with which the first andsecond endpoints are associated. The third party may provide securityauthentication services for videoconferences. The external computersystem 720 may perform the facial recognition algorithm and report backto the videoconferencing device 120 at the first endpoint whether theinformation characterizing the facial image of the potential participantmatched the facial information for the specific person, as indicated byarrow 2. As indicated by arrow 3, the videoconferencing device 120 atthe first endpoint may send information to the videoconferencing device120 at the second endpoint, such as the video information and possiblyalso an indication of whether the potential participant was successfullyauthenticated.

FIG. 18 illustrates an embodiment of the videoconferencing device 120 atthe first endpoint sending the video information (including the facialimage of the potential participant) to the videoconferencing device 120at the second endpoint (e.g., see arrow 1). As indicated by arrows 2 and3, the second endpoint may communicate with the external computer system720 to verify the identity of the potential participant.

In some embodiments, participants in the videoconference may beauthenticated using various other kinds of biometric information insteadof or in addition to facial information. For example, thevideoconferencing device 120 at the first endpoint may receive biometricinformation for a potential participant at the first endpoint, e.g.,through a device operable to obtain the biometric information. Exemplarytypes of biometric information include voice information, fingerprintinformation, and retinal information. The videoconferencing device 120may perform a biometric recognition algorithm to determine whether thebiometric information for the potential participant matches previouslystored biometric information for the specific person. The potentialparticipant may be authenticated to participate in the videoconferenceif the biometric recognition algorithm determines that there is a matchor the potential participant may be inhibited from participatingotherwise.

In some embodiments, one or more of the videoconferencing devices 120 inthe videoconference may be operable to automatically convert audiospeech of participants in the videoconference into text information. Thetext information may be useful for various purposes. FIG. 19 is aflowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method forautomatically converting the audio speech into text information.

As indicated in 751, a videoconferencing device 120 at a first endpointin the videoconference may receive a stream of video information andaudio information from a second endpoint in the videoconference. Forexample, a videoconferencing device 120 at the second endpoint may sendthe video information and audio information to the videoconferencingdevice 120 at the first endpoint in a videoconference. The audioinformation may include audio speech of a participant at the secondendpoint, e.g., where the participant is currently speaking.

At 753, the videoconferencing device 120 (e.g., at the first endpoint)may automatically convert the speech of the participant into textinformation. In other words, the participant's audio speech may beconverted from a spoken language form into a textual, written languageform. In some embodiments, one or more processors (or othercomputational elements on the videoconferencing device 120) at the firstendpoint may dynamically perform speech-to-text conversion as the audioinformation is streamed to the first endpoint to convert the speech intotext information in real time. For example, the words spoken by theparticipant at the second endpoint may be converted into textinformation substantially simultaneously as the participant speaks them.In some embodiments, there may be delays incurred when transmitting theaudio information over the network from the second endpoint to the firstendpoint. There may also be delays for the processing time associatedwith performing the speech-to-text conversion.

As indicated in 755, the videoconferencing device 120 at the firstendpoint may store the text information in a memory of thevideoconferencing device 120 at the first endpoint. Storing the textinformation in the memory may enable the text information to be used forvarious purposes.

For example, in some embodiments, the videoconferencing device 120 atthe first endpoint may display the text information on a display screenat the first endpoint, as indicated in 757. For example, thevideoconferencing device 120 may be operable to create a composite imagein which the text information is overlaid on or displayed simultaneouslywith the video information, where the video information includes a liveimage of the participant at the second endpoint speaking. Thus,displaying the text information may enable participants at the firstendpoint to see the text information representing the speech of theparticipant at the second endpoint while viewing the participant speak.

In some embodiments, the videoconferencing device 120 at the firstendpoint may also, or may alternatively, store the text information inone or more transcript files, as indicated in 759. The videoconferencingdevice 120 may also convert speech of the local participants at thefirst endpoint into text information to have a complete transcript ofthe videoconference audio. The transcript may be useful for thevideoconference participants to review what was said during thevideoconference at a later time.

In some embodiments, the videoconferencing device 120 at the firstendpoint may also, or may alternatively, translate the text informationinto another language, as indicated in 759. For example, one or moreprocessors or other computational elements on the videoconferencingdevice 120 at the first endpoint may dynamically translate the textinformation from a first language into a second language. Thevideoconferencing device 120 may also display the translated text in thesecond language on the display screen at the first endpoint. This mayenable participants at the first endpoint to see a translation of thespeech of the participant at the second endpoint while simultaneouslyviewing the participant speak.

In some embodiments, the videoconferencing device 120 at the firstendpoint may also be operable to perform voice recognition to identifythe participant at the second endpoint based on the speech of theparticipant, e.g., to determine who is speaking. The text informationmay be associated with the participant in various ways, e.g., byincluding the participant's name in the text information. In someembodiments, the videoconferencing device 120 may also have knowledge ofwhere the first participant is displayed in the video frame, e.g., basedon facial recognition or other information. The text informationrepresenting the participant's speech may be displayed proximally to theparticipant within the video frame.

In some embodiments, the speech of the participant at the secondendpoint may be converted into text by the videoconferencing device 120at the second endpoint instead of by the videoconferencing device 120 atthe first endpoint. For example, the videoconferencing device 120 at thesecond endpoint may convert the speech into text. In some embodiments,the videoconferencing device 120 at the second endpoint may create acomposite image of the participants at the second endpoint with the textinformation overlaid and may send the composite image to thevideoconferencing device 120 at the first endpoint. In some embodiments,the videoconferencing device 120 at the second endpoint may send thetext information and the video information to the videoconferencingdevice 120 at the first endpoint using a protocol that distinguishes thetext information from the video information. The videoconferencingdevice 120 at the first endpoint may then use the text information forvarious purposes.

In various embodiments, several embodiments may be implemented byvarious kinds of videoconferencing devices 120. FIG. 20 illustrates anexemplary videoconferencing device 120 according to an embodiment. It isnoted that other embodiments of videoconferencing devices 120 mayinclude various other kinds of components and may operate in variousother ways to achieve the functionality described above, and that FIG.20 represents an exemplary embodiment only.

The videoconferencing device 120 of FIG. 20 may include inputs 412 forreceiving input streams from remote videoconferencing devices 120 atother endpoints in the videoconference. The input streams may includevideo information and audio information from the remote endpoints. Thevideoconferencing device 120 may also receive video and audioinformation from local video and audio devices via the inputs 412.

In the illustrated embodiment, the videoconferencing device 120 may alsoinclude field programmable gate array (FPGA) hardware 402, e.g., one ormore FPGA chips. The FPGA hardware 402 may be operable to process theaudio and video input information and produce audio and video outputinformation to be sent to one or more display devices and one or moreaudio devices at the local endpoint via the outputs 414.

The videoconferencing device 120 may also include a processor 404coupled to a memory 406. The memory 406 may be configured to storeprogram instructions and/or data. In particular, the memory 406 maystore operating system (OS) software 409, driver software 408, andapplication software 410. In some embodiments, the memory 406 mayinclude one or more forms of random access memory (RAM) such as dynamicRAM (DRAM) or synchronous DRAM (SDRAM). However, in some embodiments,the memory 406 may include other types of memory instead or in addition.

It is noted that the processor 404 is representative of various types ofprocessors. For example, in some embodiments, the processor 404 may becompatible with the x86 architecture, while in some embodiments, theprocessor 404 may be compatible with the SPARC™ family of processors.Also, in some embodiments, the videoconferencing device 120 may includemultiple processors 404.

The processor 404 may be configured to execute the software and tooperate on data stored within the memory 406. The application software410 may interface with the driver software 408 to communicate with orcontrol the FPGA hardware 402 in various ways. For example, theapplication software 410 may communicate with the FPGA hardware 402 viathe driver software 408 to control the FPGA hardware 402 to create acomposite image including the video information from multiple videosources, e.g., to display multiple participants in the videoconferencein a continuous presence display.

The application software 410 may also cause the display of a graphicaluser interface (GUI), e.g., in response to a user operating a remotecontrol device to provide input to the videoconferencing device 120. Forexample, various GUI elements may be superimposed over the displayedvideo signals in the composite image, such as GUI elements for receivinguser input and/or GUI elements for displaying information to the user.

The FPGA hardware 402 and/or the processor 404 may be operable toperform the various methods, such as displaying participant information,performing facial recognition, performing voice recognition, andperforming speech-to-text conversion.

Referring now to FIGS. 21A-21C, exemplary embodiments of the FPGAhardware 402 are illustrated. In some embodiments, the FPGA hardware 402may include two FPGA chips, referred to as input FPGA 720 (also referredto as the “V-In” chip) and output FPGA 730 (also referred to as the“V-Out” chip). FIG. 21A provides a high-level overview of an embodimentof components of the FPGA hardware 402.

FIG. 21B illustrates components of the input FPGA 720 in greater detail.Inputs 602, 606, 608, and 610 may receive video input signals fromvarious sources. For example, inputs 602A and 602B may receive S-videoinput signals from local S-video sources (e.g., a document camera and aVCR or DVD player). Input 606 may receive a VGA input signal from adevice such as a PC. Inputs 610 are primary camera inputs that mayreceive input signals from local cameras HB1 and HB2. For example, thesecameras may provide video of the participants at the local endpoint. Insome embodiments, the cameras may be high definition cameras. The inputFPGA 720 may also interface with the video decoders 551. The videodecoders 551 may receive remote video signals (e.g., over a network) anddecode the remote video signals for input to the FPGA 720. The variousvideo input signals are also referred to herein as “input streams”.Input streams may be sent by various “TX” (transmit) modules andreceived by various “RX” (receive) modules.

As shown, the input FPGA 720 may include a pool of scalers 503. One ormore of the input streams may be sent to the scalers 503 to change itsresolution, e.g., to scale the resolution up or down. In someembodiments, the S-video input streams may be scaled up to a higherresolution, for example, so that they can be displayed at a larger sizeon the display screen. In some embodiments, the HB1 and HB2 primarycamera input streams, which may be high definition video, may be scaleddown by the scalers 502, e.g., to be sent to an S-video output (e.g.,for output to a VCR).

After possibly being scaled up or down, the input streams may beserialized by the HS Serial TX module 540 and sent to the output FPGA730.

FIG. 21C illustrates components of the output FPGA 730 in greaterdetail. The input streams coming from the input FPGA may bede-serialized by the HS Serial RX module 542 and then written intoDouble Data Rate (DDR) memory 555 b by the Stream-to-DDR DMA (directmemory access) module 560.

As shown, the output FPGA 730 may include a memory-based (MB) scaler593. In some embodiments, the MB scaler 593 may be operable to scaledown the input streams for display in the live video icons. TheDDR-to-Stream DMA module 562 may read the input streams from DDR memory555 b and feed them to the MB scaler 593. The MB scaler 593 may scaledown the input streams to a low resolution for display in the icons,e.g., where the icons are displayed at a relatively small size withrespect to the size of the display device screen.

The MB scaler 593 provides the scaled-down input streams to theDDR-to-Stream DMA module 562. Each of the scaled-down input streams maybe written by the DDR-to-Stream DMA module 562 to a different locationin the DDR memory 555 b than the original input stream.

One or more composite images may be created from the input streamsreceived from the input FPGA 720 and/or from the scaled-down inputstreams created by the MB scaler 593. For example, the output FPGA 730may be operable to provide composite images on various outputs, such asthe outputs 580, 582, 584, and 586. The outputs may be coupled torespective compositors 509, which may receive one or more of the inputstreams from the DDR memory 555 b and may create a composite imagesuitable for the output type. For example, the compositor 509 b mayprovide a composite image at S-video resolution on output 584 to anS-video output device, such as a DVD player or VCR.

Outputs 586A-C may be coupled to video encoders 553. As illustrated inFIG. 21D, video encoders 553 may encode output signals from the outputFPGA 730 and send them over a network (e.g., a Wide Area Network (WAN)Access Device (WAD) network 571). Multimedia Digital Signal Processing(DSP) processors (e.g., Nexperia™ processors 572) may be used to processaudio (e.g., Phillips Nexperia™ (PNX) signals) and/or video signals(e.g., video signals from the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)bus).

The compositors 509 may be configured by the application software 410.In other words, the application software 410 may control which inputstreams are included in each of the composite images, where therespective input streams are placed within the composite image, etc.

The input FPGA 720 and the output FPGA 730 may both be coupled to a bus,such as PCI bus 530, which may enable them to communicate with theprocessor 404, e.g., to receive instructions from the applicationsoftware 410 through the driver software 408.

It is noted that various embodiments may further include receiving,sending or storing instructions and/or data implemented in accordancewith the foregoing description upon a computer-readable memory medium.Generally speaking, a computer-readable memory medium may includestorage media or memory media such as magnetic or optical media, e.g.,disk or CD-ROM, volatile or non-volatile media such as RAM (e.g. SDRAM,DDR SDRAM, RDRAM, SRAM, etc.), ROM, etc. for storing programinstructions. Such a computer-readable memory medium may store programinstructions received from or sent on transmission media or signals suchas electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via acommunication medium such as network and/or a wireless link.

Although the embodiments above have been described in considerabledetail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent tothose skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace allsuch variations and modifications.

1. A method for performing authentication for participation in avideoconference, comprising: receiving identity information from apotential videoconference participant; analyzing the received identityinformation to determine if the received identity information matchespre-stored videoconference participant's identity information; andindicating a result of said analyzing the received identity information.2. The method of claim 1, wherein said indicating the result comprisesindicating a confirmation if a match exists between the receivedidentity information and the pre-stored videoconference participant'sidentity information.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said receivingthe identity information comprises receiving a facial image of thepotential videoconference participant at a first endpoint in thevideoconference; wherein analyzing the received identity informationcomprises: analyzing the facial image of the potential videoconferenceparticipant to create information characterizing the facial image of thepotential videoconference participant; performing a facial recognitionalgorithm to determine whether the information characterizing the facialimage of the potential videoconference participant matches pre-storedvideoconference participant's identity information; and whereinindicating the result comprises: indicating a confirmation of thepotential videoconference participant if the information characterizingthe facial image of the potential videoconference participant matchesthe facial information pre-stored for the videoconferencing participant.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity information comprisesvoice data and wherein said receiving identity information from thepotential videoconferencing participant comprises receiving voice datafrom speech of the potential videoconferencing participant.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the identity information comprises biometricdata and wherein said receiving identity information from the potentialvideoconferencing participant comprises receiving data selected from agroup consisting of a fingerprint, a retinal scan, or a deoxyribonucleicacid (DNA) sample.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein identityinformation comprises a password provided by the potentialvideoconference participant.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein theidentity information comprises information stored on a physical mediumprovided by the potential videoconference participant.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising inhibiting the potential videoconferenceparticipant from participating in the videoconference if the receivedidentity information of the potential videoconference participant doesnot match the pre-stored videoconference participant's information. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein said indicating a result comprisesdisplaying the result on a display device.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein said receiving the identity information comprises avideoconferencing device at a first endpoint receiving the identityinformation; and wherein said analyzing the received identityinformation comprises the videoconferencing device at the first endpointanalyzing the received identity information.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein the pre-stored videoconference participant's identityinformation is stored on a source external to a videoconferencing deviceat a first endpoint performing said analyzing the received identityinformation.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving theidentity information comprises a videoconferencing device at a firstendpoint in the videoconference receiving the identity information; andwherein said analyzing the identity information comprises avideoconferencing device at a second endpoint analyzing the receivedidentity information.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein said receivingthe identity information comprises a videoconferencing device at a firstendpoint receiving the video information; wherein the method furthercomprises the videoconferencing device at the first endpoint sending theidentity information to a computer system external to the firstendpoint; wherein said analyzing the identity information comprises thecomputer system external to the first endpoint performing the analyzing.14. A videoconferencing device, comprising: an input port operable toreceive identity information from a potential videoconferenceparticipant; and one or more computational elements operable to: analyzethe received identity information to determine if the received identityinformation matches pre-stored videoconference participant's identityinformation; and indicate a result of said analyzing the receivedidentity information.
 15. The videoconferencing device of claim 14,wherein the one or more computational elements include at least onefield programmable gate array (FPGA).
 16. The videoconferencing deviceof claim 14, wherein said indicating the result comprises indicating aconfirmation if a match exists between the received identity informationand the pre-stored videoconference participant's identity information.17. The videoconferencing device of claim 14, wherein said receiving theidentity information comprises receiving a facial image of the potentialvideoconference participant at a first endpoint in a videoconference;wherein analyzing the received identity information comprises: analyzingthe facial image of the potential videoconference participant to createinformation characterizing the facial image of the potentialvideoconference participant; performing a facial recognition algorithmto determine whether the information characterizing the facial image ofthe potential videoconference participant matches pre-storedvideoconference participant's identity information; and whereinindicating the result comprises: indicating a confirmation of thepotential videoconference participant if the information characterizingthe facial image of the potential videoconference participant matchesthe facial information pre-stored for the videoconferencing participant.18. The videoconferencing device of claim 14, wherein the identityinformation comprises voice data and wherein said receiving identityinformation from the potential videoconferencing participant comprisesreceiving voice data from speech of the potential videoconferencingparticipant.
 19. The videoconferencing device of claim 14, wherein theidentity information comprises biometric data and wherein said receivingidentity information from the potential videoconferencing participantcomprises receiving data selected from a group consisting of afingerprint, a retinal scan, or a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sample.20. The videoconferencing device of claim 14, wherein identityinformation comprises a password provided by the potentialvideoconference participant.
 21. The videoconferencing device of claim14, wherein the identity information comprises information stored on aphysical medium provided by the potential videoconference participant.22. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising program instructions,wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to: receiveidentity information from a potential videoconference participant;analyze the received identity information to determine if the receivedidentity information matches pre-stored videoconference participant'sidentity information; and indicate a result of said analyzing thereceived identity information.